Friday, May 31, 2013

I have been getting alot of spam since my blog address was posted on Twitter.
(never have liked Twitter all that much and now even less so)
So went into my settings yesterday and with some help from a friend (L3), I changed up some of my settings about comments and spam.
I sure hope it helps.
If it doesn't than I'll be shutting this blog.
Crossing my fingers here.

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Corporate politics is business as usual inside the United States, as I am once again shocked to report the EPA has sided with industry lobbyists over public health in approving a highly dangerous pesticide that the European Union recently decided to ban over fears of environmental devastation. Not only have neonicotinoid pesticides been linked repeatedly to mass bee deaths, also known as Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), but the continued use of such pesticides threatens other aspects of nature (and humans) as well.

What’s even more amazing is that the decision not only comes after the EU publicly discussed
the major dangers surrounding the use of the pesticides, but after the
USDA released a report surrounding the continued honeybee deaths and the
related effects — a report in which they detailed pesticides to be a
contributing factor. Just the impact on the honeybees alone, and we now
know that these pesticides are killing aquatic life and subsequently the birds that feed upon them, amounts to a potential $200 billion in global damages per year. We’re talking about the devastation of over 100 crops, from apples to avocados and plums.
And there’s countless scientists and a large number of environmental science groups speaking out on this. The EPA
has no lack of information the subject. And sure, there are other
contributing factors to bee deaths, there’s no question about that. We
have an environment right now being hit with Monsanto’s Roundup even in
residential areas, we have chemical rain, we have insane amounts of EMF —
but it’s pretty clear that neonicotinoid pesticides are at least a
major contributing factor. And beyond that, they have no place in the
food supply to begin with.
The Pesticide Action Network (PAN) details the EU ban that came right before the EPA acceptance of the death-linked pesticide:

“The EU vote comes after significant findings by the
European Food Safety Agency that these pesticides pose an unacceptable
risk to bees and their use should be restricted. Along with habitat loss
and pathogens, a growing body of science points to neonicotinoid
pesticides as a key factor in drastically declining bee populations.”

So why are they approving this pesticide to now pollute the United
States in what potentially amounts to an even larger capacity than the
EU? A move that will ultimately escalate the price of food worldwide due
to the likely nature of continued bee deaths and subsequent crop
impact? That’s the power of phony corporate science.

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Hungary has taken a bold stand against biotech giant Monsanto
and genetic modification by destroying 1000 acres of maize found to
have been grown with genetically modified seeds, according to Hungary
deputy state secretary of the Ministry of Rural Development Lajos
Bognar. Unlike many European Union countries, Hungary is a nation where
genetically modified (GM) seeds are banned. In a similar stance against
GM ingredients, Peru has also passed a 10 year ban on GM foods.
Almost 1000 acres of maize found to have been ground with genetically
modified seeds have been destroyed throughout Hungary, deputy state
secretary of the Ministry of Rural Development Lajos Bognar said. The
GMO maize has been ploughed under, said Lajos Bognar, but pollen has not
spread from the maize, he added.

Unlike several EU members, GMO seeds are banned in Hungary.
The checks will continue despite the fact that seek traders are obliged
to make sure that their products are GMO free, Bognar said.
During the invesigation, controllers have found Pioneer Monsanto products among the seeds planted.
The free movement of goods within the EU means that authorities will
not investigate how the seeds arrived in Hungary, but they will check
where the goods can be found, Bognar said. Regional public radio
reported that the two biggest international seed producing companies are
affected in the matter and GMO seeds could have been sown on up to the thousands of hectares in the country. Most of the local farmers have complained since they just discovered they were using GMO seeds.

With season already under way, it is too late to sow new seeds, so this years harvest has been lost.
And to make things even worse for the farmers, the company that
distributed the seeds in Baranya county is under liquidation. Therefore,
if any compensation is paid by the international seed producers, the
money will be paid primarily to that company’s creditors, rather than
the farmers.

Thursday, May 16, 2013

In
the recent outrage over the Monsanto Protection Act, here’s a simple
list of companies that use Monsanto products. By staying away from
products made by these companies on the list above, you can make sure
your dollars are not going to support 'Monsanto' and at the same time
watch out for the health of your family and your loved ones.

Thursday, May 9, 2013

The other day I was feeling overwhelmed and defeated about the whole GMO
thing. There is SO MUCH evidence that GMOs and the chemicals that are
used in concert with them (like Round up) are destroying our health and planet. Hundreds of thousands of people
have signed petitions and answered surveys that they want GMOs at least
labeled if not completely out of our food system. (Are you listening,
Mr. President?) But then it occurred to me. We have the solution!
Ultimately, there is only one way to ensure that GMOs are out of our
food supply, and that is to buy, grow, and eat only organic food. Eating
certified-organic food is the only way you can ensure that you are not
poisoning your children, poisoning yourself, and poisoning our
environment. Isn't that worth a few extra bucks in the supermarket? A
few extra questions to your farmer at the farmers' market? And the more
we buy organics, the cheaper they'll become. So, let's join together and
support the businesses that align with our belief that GMOs do not
belong in our food. Let's vote with our dollars. The power is in our
hands. Will you join me?—Maria Rodale

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

The Eta Aquarid meteor shower occurs each year in early May because the
orbit of Halley's Comet closely approaches the orbit of Earth in two
places. The first is the May timeframe, which leads to the Eta Aquarids.
The other point occurs in mid-October, producing the Orionid meteor
shower.

When and where to watchThe Eta Aquarid meteor shower is predicted to peak early on
Sunday morning, but dark skies and clear weather are vital to observe
them. Under ideal conditions (a dark, moonless sky) about 55 to 60 of
these very swift meteors might be seen per hour.
The meteor shower appears at about one-quarter of its peak strength
for several days before and after May 5. This is a very good year to
look out for the Eta Aquarid meteors from Halley's Comet
because the moon will be at a thin, waning crescent phase, and just
20-percent illuminated and providing little interference for viewing
these swift streaks of light.
From places south of the equator, the Eta Aquarids typically put on
very good show. Australian stargazers consider them to be the best
meteor display of the year.
But for those watching from north of the equator, it's a much different story.

Where to look

The apparent origin point of a meteor shower in the night sky
is known as its radiant. For the Eta Aquarids, the radiant is found
within the "Water Jar" of the constellation Aquarius, which begins to
rise above the eastern horizon around 3 a.m. your local time.
Unfortunately, this constellation never really gets very high as seen
from north temperate latitudes. And soon after 4 a.m. local time, the
morning twilight will begin to brighten the sky.
So if you are hoping to see up to 60 meteors per hour, forget it.
With the radiant so low above the horizon, the majority of those meteors
will be streaking below the horizon and out of sight.
In fact, from North America, typical Aquarid rates are only 10
meteors per hour at 26 degrees north latitude (Miami, Fla., or
Brownsville, Texas), 5 per hour at around 35 degrees latitude (Los
Angeles, Calif., or Cape Hatteras, N.C.) and practically zero to the
north of 40 degrees (New York, Chicago, and Philadelphia).
"So," you may be thinking, "What's the point of getting up before dawn to watch?" The answer: Despite the long odds, you still just might see something spectacular.

Catch an Earthgrazer, or comet crumbFor most, perhaps the best hope is perhaps catching a glimpse
of a meteor emerging from the radiant that will skim the atmosphere
horizontally — much like a bug skimming the side window of an
automobile.
Meteor watchers call such shooting stars "earthgrazers" and they are known for spectacularly long, colorful long-lasting trails.
"These meteors are extremely long," Robert Lunsford of the
International Meteor Organization explained. "They tend to hug the
horizon rather than shooting overhead where most cameras are aimed."
"Earthgrazers are rarely numerous," NASA meteor expert Bill Cooke, a
member of the Space Environments team at the Marshall Space Flight
Center has said. "But even if you only see a few, you're likely to
remember them."
If you do catch sight of one early these next few mornings, remember
that you are likely seeing the incandescent streak produced by material
which originated from the core of Halley's Comet.
So it is that the shooting stars that we have come to call the Eta
Aquarids are really an encounter with the traces of a famous visitor
from the depths of space and from the dawn of creation.

Sunday, May 5, 2013

Seattle’s
vision of an urban food oasis is going forward. A seven-acre plot of
land in the city’s Beacon Hill neighborhood will be planted with
hundreds of different kinds of edibles: walnut and chestnut trees;
blueberry and raspberry bushes; fruit
trees, including apples and pears; exotics like pineapple, yuzu citrus,
guava, persimmons, honeyberries, and lingonberries; herbs; and more.
All will be available for public plucking to anyone who wanders into the
city’s first food forest.

“This is totally innovative, and has never been done before in a
public park,” Margarett Harrison, lead landscape architect for the
Beacon Food Forest project, tells TakePart. Harrison is working on
construction and permit drawings now and expects to break ground this
summer.

The concept of a food forest certainly pushes the envelope on urban agriculture and is grounded in the concept of permaculture,
which means it will be perennial and self-sustaining, like a forest is
in the wild. Not only is this forest Seattle’s first large-scale
permaculture project, but it’s also believed to be the first of its kind
in the nation.

“The concept means we consider the soils, companion plants, insects,
bugs—everything will be mutually beneficial to each other,” says
Harrison.
That the plan came together at all is remarkable on its own. What
started as a group project for a permaculture design course ended up as a
textbook example of community outreach gone right.
"Friends of the Food Forest undertook heroic outreach efforts to secure
neighborhood support. The team mailed over 6,000 postcards in five
different languages, tabled at events and fairs, and posted fliers,” writes Robert Mellinger for Crosscut.
Neighborhood input was so valued by the organizers, they even used
translators to help Chinese residents have a voice in the planning.
So just who gets to harvest all that low-hanging fruit when the time comes?
“Anyone and everyone,” says Harrison. “There was major discussion
about it. People worried, ‘What if someone comes and takes all the
blueberries?’ That could very well happen, but maybe someone needed
those blueberries. We look at it this way—if we have none at the end of
blueberry season, then it means we’re successful.”

Place the berries and yoghurt in a food processor and blend until smooth. Transfer to a medium-sized bowl and set aside.Whisk
the egg whites in a clean, dry bowl until stiff peaks form. Add the
honey a tablespoon at a time, whisking well after each addition until
thick and glossy. Fold into the berry yoghurt mixture until just
combined.
Pour the mixture into an airtight container and place in the freezer for
4 hours or until frozen.Use a metal spoon to break the frozen
yoghurt into chunks. Blend again in a food processor until smooth.
Return to the airtight container and refreeze for 3 hours or until
frozen. Serve in scoops.

Looks good doesn't it? I can't wait to try it. Maybe today since the temperature here is going to be a rip roaring 27 C (80 F)!